Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of the Council and Senate, I present to you Dr. Stephen Worobetz.
Stephen Worobetz has an unparalleled record of service to Saskatchewan and Canada. He was this province's 13th Lieutenant Governor from 1970 to 1976, he was a member of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps serving in Italy and England from 1942 to 1946, and he has served as a physician in Saskatchewan since World War II. Throughout his career he has been active in community and professional activities.
Dr. Worobetz was born and raised at Krydor, Saskatchewan. He graduated from the Medical Sciences program of the University of Saskatchewan in 1935 with a BSc. degree prior to obtaining his M.D. degree from the University of Manitoba in 1940. After a brief practice at Lucky Lake, he entered military service and while serving as Medical Officer with the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry was awarded the Military Cross.
After World War II, Dr. Worobetz set up practice in Saskatoon as a family practitioner. Following postgraduate studies at Deer Lodge Hospital in Winnipeg and the University of Pennsylvania he returned to practice in Saskatoon as a General Surgeon during which time he held numerous medical positions locally, provincially and nationally. He was a Clinical Lecturer in the Department of Surgery, College of Medicine from 1956 to 1983; in the seven years prior to 1983 he also served as a Senior Associate in the Division of Oncology. Dr. Worobetz has been an active member of the Saskatoon and District Medical Society, the Saskatchewan Medical Association, the Canadian Medical Association, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan and was advanced as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1973. In addition, he is past president of the medical staff at St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon and a past member of the Medical Advisory Committee at St. Paul’s. Dr. Worobetz left full time private practice in 1980.
Proud of his heritage, committed to his family, church and community, Dr. Worobetz was a founding member and charter chairman of the board of St. Joseph's Nursing Home in Saskatoon, a founding member and charter president of the revived Canadian Club of Saskatoon, past president of the Ukrainian Catholic Council of Saskatchewan, and past president of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Association of Saskatchewan. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Canadian Unity, the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, the Saskatoon unit of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heritage Trust Company of Edmonton, Alberta, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Sheptysky Society of Saskatchewan, the Ukrainian Professional and Business Club of Saskatchewan and the Knights of Columbus. For his outstanding community and professional contributions, Dr. Worobetz has been recognized through a number of awards - the Shevchenko Medical Award from the Ukrainian Committee of Canada, a Knight of the Order of Saint John (St. John’s Ambulance), Senior Life Member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan, and Life Member of the Canadian Medical Association.
Stephen Worobetz is described as a man of quiet distinction who commands respect through example to others. With concern for the worth of his fellow man, depth of interest and commitment, and service above self, Stephen Worobetz is indeed a worthy recipient of special recognition by the University of Saskatchewan.
Mr. Chancellor, I present to you. Dr. Stephen Worobetz and ask that you will confer on him the degree of Doctor of the Laws, honoris causa.